CDC Aiming To Create Better Disease Detection Systems

Mar 11, 2014

Roll Call reports on CDC efforts to invest in new technologies that would facilitate disease detection.

Roll Call: CDC Plans to Map DNA of Disease-Causing Viruses
“Many public health experts see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the premier disease detection agency not just for the United States but for the entire planet. Yet when it comes to employing the fastest and most precise method of spotting outbreaks of illness, the CDC is no longer at the cutting edge — and won’t be for years. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Thomas Frieden along with public health and provider groups want to turn that around by investing in a sophisticated technology called ‘advanced molecular detection’ that determines the genetic map of the viruses, bacteria and parasites that cause disease…” (Reichard, 3/10).

Roll Call: Will Next Disease Detection System Be Faster, Cheaper?
“Those who monitor disease detection policy note that it’s cheaper and faster to move away from a system that relies heavily on the time-consuming growth in the lab of cultures of disease-causing bugs. But moving to ‘advanced molecular detection’ technology to reap those advantages could create new problems if the transition isn’t managed properly, experts say…” (Reichard, 3/10).